Kedzierska, B., Szambowska, A., Herman-Antosiewicz, A. et al. (4 more authors) (2007) The C-terminal domain of the Escherichia coli RNA polymerase alpha subunit plays a role in the CI-dependent activation of the bacteriophage λ p(M) promoter. Nucleic Acids Research, 35 (7). 2311 - 2320. ISSN 0305-1048
Abstract
The bacteriophage λ pM promoter is required for maintenance of the λ prophage in Escherichia coli, as it facilitates transcription of the cI gene, encoding the λ repressor (CI). CI levels are maintained through a transcriptional feedback mechanism whereby CI can serve as an activator or a repressor of pM. CI activates pM through cooperative binding to the OR1 and OR2 sites within the OR operator, with the OR2-bound CI dimer making contact with domain 4 of the RNA polymerase σ subunit (σ4). Here we demonstrate that the 261 and 287 determinants of the C-terminal domain of the RNA polymerase α subunit (αCTD), as well as the DNA-binding determinant, are important for CI-dependent activation of pM. We also show that the location of αCTD at the pM promoter changes in the presence of CI. Thus, in the absence of CI, one αCTD is located on the DNA at position −44 relative to the transcription start site, whereas in the presence of CI, αCTD is located at position −54, between the CI-binding sites at OR1 and OR2. These results suggest that contacts between CI and both αCTD and σ are required for efficient CI-dependent activation of pM.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2007 The Author(s) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) > Department of Infection and Immunity (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 29 Sep 2015 13:15 |
Last Modified: | 29 Sep 2015 13:15 |
Published Version: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkm123 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Oxford University Press (OUP): Policy C - Option B |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1093/nar/gkm123 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:88267 |